Former Mayor Jon Lindgren will speak Monday at an event here sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Lindgren said he was asked to speak at the event, which Mayor Dennis Walaker is not expected to attend.

Walaker, who several years ago joined the group founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said he is an inactive member.

Walaker said gun violence in Fargo is not the problem it is in cities like Boston and New York.

Lindgren, who was mayor from 1978 to 1994, said Wednesday that he favors more stringent gun control to help prevent violence.

“I don’t own a gun and I feel safer because I don’t own a gun,” Lindgren said. “It always makes gun advocates angry when I say that.”

The former mayor said he disagrees with the view that gun violence is not a significant problem in Fargo.

“I’m not sure that’s true,” he said. “We have suicides by guns. We of course have the occasional murder by someone using a gun. Widespread gun ownership contributes to violence in our community as it does elsewhere.”